July 2022

Dislocated Worker and Federal Adult Programs

WIOA DW, WIOA Adult, and State DW:

• THANK YOU, PARTNERS! The DW Team would like to say a big thank you to our program partners for working with us to quickly turnaround PY22FY23 planning documents! We greatly appreciate your partnership and all that you do to serve the people of Minnesota.

Reminder – Last Minute Budget Adjustments Allowed on Final RPRs for PY20 Formula Grants:

• RPRs: Other than Admin, over is only allowed on the final RPR (as long as the total expended doesn’t exceed the total budgeted, of course). The more expended in cost categories that directly benefit program participants the better. Throughout the grant cycle, since these are reimbursements, providers can’t request more than the budgeted amount for any cost category. Our accounting system won’t approve it.
• FSRs: Budget adjustment is allowed if the total expended doesn’t exceed the total budgeted and they don’t go over the 10% Admin max on the final. Under and over is allowed throughout the grant cycle.
• Also, it is important to keep state statute cost category requirements in mind with State DW grants. The State DW cost limitations/requirements are 10% max Admin, 50% min DCT, and 15% max in Support Services. The Cost Category Policy does state “DEED grants staff will require a brief written justification (one paragraph) if the variance of any cost category exceeds 2% of the budgeted amount.”

Period of Performance Extended for Minnesota’s COVID-19 and Opioids-OMNI Grants:

• Great news! The U.S Department of Labor (DOL) approved MN’s period of performance requests for both the COVID-19 DWG and the Opioids DWG! This action extends both grants for another year, to 6/30/2023.
• A webpage for disaster relief grant-related information, which includes FAQs, is available on DEED’s website. If you are interested in learning more or need to look up information about these grants, they can be found via this link: https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/dislocated-worker/grants/
• The Dept. of Labor (DOL) released TEGL 16-21, the updated National Dislocated Worker Grant Program Guidance. This TEGL clarifies DWG program policies including the types of DWGs, grant funding approach, period of performance and period of expenditure, cost limitations, administrative policies, application requirements, performance targets and reporting, and post-award policies. This guidance rescinds and replaces TEGL 12-19, National Dislocated Worker Grant Program Guidance, dated March 18, 2020, and its Change 1, dated November 2, 2020.
• TEGL 16-21 - Updated National Dislocated Worker Grant Program Guidance has been added to the ETA Advisory database and is now available at https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?docn=7360.

Dislocated Worker Staff Promotion:

• Congratulations to Rita Apaloo for her promotion to Grants Specialist Coordinator! Rita joined the DW/Federal Adult Programs Team in the Fall of 2019 as a Grants Specialist Sr. Over the past 2.5+ years, she has made significant contributions to the programs.

Please email all requests, reports, and technical assistance questions to the Dislocated Worker Federal Adult Programs general email at dwfaprograms.deed@state.mn.us

Dislocated Worker and WIOA Adult Performance Updates

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Program Year 2021 Data Freeze Date is now scheduled for July 15, 2022. Please have all your data entry up-to-date including all Measurable Skill Gains achieved by your participants during the timeframe of 07/01/2021 – 06/30/2022 entered into Workforce One no later than close of business 07/15/2022.                                                                

Cases accessing PY2020 Dislocated Worker (DW) and WIOA Adult (AD) Allocations  Reminder: PY2020 allocations will be expiring on June 30, 2022.

If needed in an alternative format, contact amy.carlson@state.mn.us

All cases showing the following funding streams within an open activity will need your attention:

If needed in an alternative format, contact amy.carlson@state.mn.us

If the participant will continue receiving a service currently supported by PY2020 allocations after June 30, 2022, a new activity will need to be opened for each service the participant will continue.

Reminder: All Dislocated Worker and WIOA Adult program year formula allocations (small layoff grants/WIOA Adult allotments) remain active for two years.

• PY2020 = July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2022
• PY2021 = July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2023
• PY2022 = July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2024

This means, the new activity will need a PY2021 or PY2022 formula grant selected within them depending on your agencies budget.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO KNOW

• All activities with a PY2020 allocation selected within them cannot have a start date after June 30, 2022. They must also have an end date no later than June 30, 2022.
• If any participant will continue participating in an activity that is currently showing a PY2020 allocation supporting that service, that activity needs to be copied within their activity detail screen.
  • The new activity will need a start date of July 1, 2022.
  • An active funding source (PY2021 or PY2022) will need to be selected within them.
• To help in this funding source transition:
  • Amy Carlson will mass close all currently open PY2020 funded activities with an end date of June 30, 2022, which means you will only need to open/copy the old activities. If you want to close the old activities yourself with a date no later than 06/30/2022, that is fine. If you choose not to close them yourself, it will be taken care of for you.
  • This mass activity closure will begin August 1, 2022.
  • If there are cases without other open activities on record showing a different funding source, this mass closure will not work for those cases. Any cases that show they cannot be included in the PY2020 funded activity closure will be emailed to the management team for the COFFR funding the case with direction on how the case manager needs to correct the data.
• Shortly after July 1, 2022, additional funding streams will be added to your dropdown lists for PY2022 allocations. The date these new funding streams will be available is dependent on when PY2022 contracts are in place. Your management teams will be alerted as soon as your agency’s PY2022 funding streams are available in WF1.

Should you have any performance or data entry questions, please contact the State Program Administrator Coordinator for ETP Adult programs, Amy Carlson, at amy.carlson@state.mn.us

Adult Career Pathways

Adult Career Pathways Team Updates

The ACP Coordinators are busy working with Grantees to execute SFY23 Competitive contracts by July 1st. The team encourages Grantees to work on these as soon as possible. We often must work back and forth with Grantees to get approved documents, so please do not wait to start working on these.

The new Internationally Trained Professionals grant funding award notifications awarding six providers throughout the state were sent out Monday, May 16th. We are excited about this new program, focusing on internationally trained Healthcare professionals, and look forward to seeing the outcomes.

The Targeted Community Capital Project awards were announced Friday, March 25, 2022. The ACP team is currently waiting on legal clarification to begin the contracting process. We are excited to see these projects begin!

We encourage grantees to begin preparing for the end of COVID waivers. Please be sure to review the current waivers and reach out to your Coordinator if you have any questions.

The ACP Team will welcome three new ACP Grant Coordinators in July. Stay tuned for more updates!

The ACP team has partnered with CareerForce MN to give our Grantees the opportunity to post their free trainings on the CareerForce website; https://www.careerforcemn.com/training-programs . This is an excellent opportunity to market your courses to the thousands of users that visit the site every month.  Feel free to reach out to the CareerForce help desk at careerforce@state.mn.us  to request access or any additional assistance.

Mn Family Resiliency Partnership

(Federally known as Displaced Homemaker Program)

The ACP Team is excited to announce that Workforce Development Inc. (WDI) has been chosen to begin providing services to MFRP eligible participants in the SE Minnesota area on July 1, 2022. WDI will join five current MFRP providers. For more information about the Minnesota Family Resiliency Partnership program check out DEED’s ACP webpage.

Workforce One- ACP Programs

Two Workforce One training sessions specific for ACP programs were held on February 22nd (for Pathways to Prosperity providers only) and March 1st (for all other ACP providers). Both sessions were recorded and are now available for viewing on the ACP Webpage.

The ACP Workforce One Guide is updated and is now posted to the ACP Webpage!

SNAP E&T 50/50

This program has reimbursed its Grantees over $45,000 so far in SFY22! If you are interested in adding SNAP E&T 50% Reimbursement program to your organization and have not heard from us, please contact Ann Meyers at ann.meyers@state.mn.us.

Adult Career Pathways Guides

Even during these busy times, the ACP team continues to update the Operations Guide posted at the ACP home page. This guide does NOT include measures implemented in response to COVID-19, which are listed separately. If you have any suggestions for the guide, please submit those to your Grant Coordinator.

Please contact your Adult Career Pathways Grant Coordinator directly with any questions regarding Adult Career Pathways Programs.

Trade Adjustment Assistance

Sunset provisions/ Reauthorization

On June 10, 2022 the Department of Labor (DOL) published TEGL 13-21 announcing TAA Program termination. The TEGL provides the workforce system information and guidance on the impact of TAA Program termination and continued operation of the TAA Program by the states. Funding is in place through September 2024. With no Congressional action, the funding will continue through FY28 at a reduced rate every year in order for TAA to fund the benefits that are approved for customers.

Link to TEGL 13-21: https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?docn=7913

Link to DOL blog, “States Must Provide TAA Benefits and Services after June 30, 2022” https://taa.workforcegps.org/blog/general/2022/06/17/15/45/Termination-2022

A person eligible under 2015 Law needs to be at threat of layoff (i.e. on a worker list) or laid off by 6/30/22 in order to use TAA benefits. 2015 Law petitions are numbered between 90,000 and 97,999.

A person eligible under Reversion 2021 has to be laid off by 6/30/22 in order to use TAA benefits. Reversion 2021 petitions are numbered 98,000+.

For all customers, the first A/RTAA payment had to have been made by 6/30/22. Those who received a payment by 6/30/22 can continue to receive A/RTAA payments. Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA) determines A/RTAA eligibility and processes the payments.

Minnesota TAA will keep everyone updated as we receive guidance and information from DOL regarding activity by Congress. TAA will continue to perform outreach to those who have previously become eligible and serve customers approved for TAA benefits. Continue to submit questions and applications to TAA’s general email: deed.taa@state.mn.us  

Training Progress Reports

Training Progress Reports are required year-round, even during breaks in training.

• A customer who completes the spring semester of training and is returning in the fall, but not attending summer classes, still needs to submit a Training Progress Report (TPR.) The Training Progress Report is required every 60 calendar days regardless of breaks in training.
• TAA recognizes there will be no instructor signatures as the student is not in class, but a school official, registrar, or advisor should complete the top portion (answer questions and sign and date) along with a statement “break in training” or “not attending summer”.
• Ideally, the student would submit the form before the school term ends, although it may be fewer than 60 days from the last Training Progress Report.
• Completing a Training Progress Report while not attending summer classes may take more effort, but it is still required.

Chatbot

TAA has a chatbot on its website https://www.careerforcemn.com/TAA. This spring we collected and analyzed data on the chatbot to see its impact; the Q&A and data was recently highlighted on a DOL blog at this link: https://taa.workforcegps.org/blog/general/2022/04/25/15/19/MN_Chatbot

Petitions

Here’s the link to check the status of petitions with U.S. Department of Labor 

https://www.doleta.gov/tradeact/petitioners/taa_search_form.cfm

Note: Under sunset provisions, all DOL investigations will end 6/30/22.

• Certified
  • 98313 – Measurement Specialties/TE Connectivity , Andover (ATAA denied)
• Pending DOL’s investigation
  • 98319 - EcoWater Systems LLC, Woodbury
  • 98315 - BCS Automotive Interface Solutions, Winona

Please email all questions and customer applications to the Trade Adjustment Assistance general email at deed.taa@state.mn.us

Labor Market Information

By the Numbers – Labor Market Information

By April 2022, employment was back to 99.0% of its level in February 2020, just 29,000 workers short. These numbers indicate that as workers have moved back into the labor market, they have been successfully finding jobs. However, a significant number of workers remain out of the labor force and employers are struggling to find available workers to take jobs – and policymakers are searching for solutions including encouraging more people to return to the labor force and encouraging more foreign immigration and domestic migration to the state. Looking at employment and unemployment together, the overall size of the Minnesotan labor force remains 2.7% lower than prior to the pandemic, or 84,700 works short of February 2020. In comparison, the national labor force remains 0.3% lower than prior to the pandemic, or 500,000 workers. Read the entire article here: https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/june-2022/recovering.jsp

After decades of low inflation, Americans are dealing with rapidly rising consumer costs that are more than offsetting wage gains. Minnesotans are not spared the impacts of inflation, which tends to hit lower-income people harder. This article examines the various ways of measuring both wage and other compensation increases and how inflation impacts real purchasing power: https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/june-2022/wages.jsp

Current workforce shortages in Greater Minnesota are primarily caused by population and labor force participation declines. This article documents the challenges of workforce retention in Greater Minnesota among college-age individuals and examines the role that high school Career and Technical Education (CTE) can play in mitigating them: https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/june-2022/high-school.jsp

If you have questions about Labor Market Information, please email deed.lmi@state.mn.us

This newsletter is meant for DEED Grantees, Providers, and Employment Counselors. We want this e-Newsletter to meet your needs! We encourage you to send your comments and suggestions deed.taa@state.mn.us. Find past issues of Partner Express.